This post was taken from Altair Enlighten and contributed by my colleague, Pär-Ola Jansell, Director of Altair ProductDesign, Sweden.

Composite structures are often associated with low-volume products such as aircraft or race cars where performance is more important than cost. Due to increased weight challenges, the interest of using composites in automotive applications has increased significantly. The excellent weight/performance ratio of these materials is unparalleled in many applications. This increases the need for manufacturing processes that is well suited for mass production. Read More

Last week, the North American International Auto Show kicked off in Detroit’s newly renovated COBO Center with press and industry preview days before opening the show to the public last weekend. For me, it’s easy to see how simulation technology played a role in the impressive end results for the vehicles exhibited across the show floor. However, that might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re staring face-to-face with a stunning concept car.

Lightweight design, performance, fuel efficiency standards, carbon emissions and vehicle safety all will continue to be topics discussed among the many engineers, analysts, automotive enthusiasts and other show attendees. Simulation technology will be inherently present within some of the most impressive products on the show floor. Read More

This post was taken from Altair Enlighten and contributed by my colleague, Lars Fredriksson, Director at Altair ProductDesign, Germany.

Back in January 2012, Altair entered into a partnership with advanced materials specialists, Caterham Composites, to improve each other’s knowledge on the design, simulation and manufacture of composite materials. We even wrote a press release about it explaining how the two companies planned to work together.

Here in Germany, we’ve seen more and more industries looking into composite materials as they seek to take advantage of its inherent weight advantages and impressive strength characteristics. However, the materials bring with them an extra layer of design complexity that can cause problems for manufacturers hoping to simply swap out their current metallic components for lightweight composite alternatives, often referred to as a ‘black metal’ solution.

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